Page 22 of Amaze

“Missed me already?”

“Yes, that and it’s almost halftime, and Peanut decided that he wanted some boiled peanuts.”

“I shoulda known.” I shook my head and kissed my wife on the top of her head.

“So you don’t like taking care of your wife and sons? Tell me right now that you don’t love us.” Her eyes were watery as she looked up at me, actually expecting an answer.

I had become accustomed to Wesley’s pregnancy mood swings and weird eating patterns early on in the pregnancy. It was a good thing that I loved her because both Ant and I had to hide food all over the house just to keep from starving. My baby was eating up everything, but I loved to see it. Closing my eyes, I kissed the top of her head.

“Wesley, stop that, baby. You know there’s nothing and nowhere I would rather be than anywhere you are.”

“Oh, just checking,” she said, smiling up at me as if she had just hit the lottery.

I didn’t know about her, but I damn sure felt like I had won a million bucks. Pulling her body closer to me, I rubbed her belly as I finally placed our order. Of course she tossed in a pickle to go with her salt and vinegar chips. Whatever my baby wanted, she could have.

Amaze Jr.’s2ndbirthday…

The sound of engines roaring had my baby boy on his feet. He jumped up and down, squealing like crazy as the Dirty Strykers gave him a birthday salute. I didn’t care for all the noise, but my baby boy loved it. Amaze climbed off his bike, shaking his hair as he walked toward us. He was as sexy as ever as he moved in our direction. Before I could grab his little shirt, Junior took off running for his dad.

“Daddy!” my son yelled with outstretched arms.

Seeing the pride and joy beaming through Amaze’s smile made me so happy that I had given him another son. Every day,I watched him father our sons filled with the same pride that flowed through him.

I was so grateful that Amaze had gotten a second chance to raise a child from infancy after having missed that opportunity with Anthony. My boys were my life, all three of them. Amaze scooped Junior up before continuing my way and planting a kiss on my cheek.

“You better not have had my son out cat walking on that bike again,” I said, looking past him to where Anthony was talking to some of the guys in the motorcycle club.

Ant had been going down and learning the ropes with Amaze. He was even talking about majoring in business in college so that he could take the business the club ran to new heights. His dream of playing basketball was still there, but it felt good to know that he was exploring his options instead of putting all of his eggs in one basket.

“Not yet, but soon, he’ll be ready.”

“You better be glad it’s Mazie’s birthday, or I would tell you something.”

“You know I’m not gon’ let the boy get hurt, baby. I’m teaching him all of the safety stuff first. Of course riding comes with its own dangers, but Anthony is going to be one of the safest riders on the road.”

“He better be. I’m not playing with you, Maze.”

“He’s a good kid, baby. Let him grow up.”

I rolled my eyes at the suggestion that I was babying Ant. Maze loved to say let him grow up, but it was hard on me. I had been there with him his entire life. It would be tough seeing him go off to college in the fall, but I would be so occupied with other things that I was sure I would manage.

One thing about Black people, we knew how to turn a children’s party into an adult party. Aside from Mazie and a couple of the other rider’s kids, there were only adults at theparty. The motorcycle club had shown up for my boy in a big way.

Aside from the little leather vest with his name on it, he had been given a ton of gear that included a rechargeable motorcycle that he could ride. My baby was only two years old, and the love for motorcycles was already running through his veins. My face lit up as I watched Ant jog across the field to where we were. Soon, my baby would be going away, but right now, I didn’t want to think about that. I wanted to relish every moment I could with him while I could.

“Don’t fuss at my son, Wesley. He’s been careful,” Amaze counseled me.

“I won’t, my amazing husband,” I said in a mocking tone as I rolled my eyes.

“Thank you, my amazing wife.”

“Ma, the food ready?”

“Ant, speak to my wife before you start asking for shit.”

“Hey, Ma. Is the food ready?”

“Yes it is. Can you tell Lade and your uncle AJ to put me a plate aside. I don’t feel like eating right now.” Instead of just taking my words at face value, Ant turned to look at his dad for approval.

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